A Dangerous Precedent

“Saya mintak isteri saya menelefon (pada masa itu) isteri Presiden Mubarak (Mesir), Suzanne Mubarak. Dalam masa dua jam sahaja dia dilepaskan”.

“Masa Ops Pyramid, nak bawak pelajar kita balik. Kita tak cukup penerbangan. Kita minta pelajar pelajar kita naik pesawat Charlie (TUDM C-130H) turun di Jeddah dan dari Jeddah  ke Kuala Lumpur, tanpa visa. Satu permintaan amat sukar bagi Kerajaan Saudi. Kerana networking dengan keluarga DiRaja Saudi yang diusahakan isteri saya, Kerajaan Saudi membenarkan rakyat kita masuk tanpa visa”.

As the 7th UMNO President, Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak explained these “Two points about his wife Datin Sri Rosmah Mansor’s contribution to Malaysia”, on top of the Permata Early Child Development Program, at his closing speech to the 64th UMNO General Assembly yesterday in PWTC.

The event was aired live on national TV, via RTM1, TV3 and Bernama TV.

In this explanation, Prime Minister Najib inadvertently revealed several ‘secrets’. One, he actually uses his wife to by-pass the usual G-to-G official relationship and diplomatic protocol.

It means that what ever have been worked between officials of the two countries, could be circumvented unofficially by persons who do not have official standing in the government of the two sovereign states.

Prime Minister Najib also indirectly telling the world that his wife is a more efficient ‘Foreign Minister‘, instead the one who had sworn in as a Cabinet member to His Majesty Seri Paduka Yang DiPertuan Agong.

The third point is that, the door swing both ways. Theoretically, whenever any foreigner is arrested in this country by law enforcement or security agencies, he or she could be released with a call from the wife of the Head of Government or State of that nation to Rosmah.

Hypothetically, whenever an American student or activist is picked up by the Special Branch for suspected activities involving espionage or terrorism then a phone call from Michelle Obama to Rosmah shall do the trick to have the student or activist released summarily.

This is not withstanding the point that Prime Minister Najib has set the precedence that he would publicly address any controversies and rumours about his wife.

Prime Minister Najib is actually ‘Penny wise, Pound foolish’. Probably he got the showmanship-ness of telling the world about how wife ‘contributed’. However, he actually has opened a Pandora’s Box with this revelation. This would invite further complications whenever the word ‘Rosmah’ is mentioned in the context of ‘Getting things done and circumventing the system’.

A coherently related controversy is Rosmah someone who is actively involved and participative in dishing out instructions and decision making of Prime Minister’s Office. Particularly, when it comes to contracts and concessions. A more common Malay colloquial slang for that in today’s term is  ‘Wahyu‘ (Commandment).

What is apparent at the moment in the media. RTM1, TV3, NST and Utusan Malaysia seemed to have Rosmah as a story somewhere within the paper, almost everyday. Many believed that has now organically metemorphed into something very ugly where so many loathe the sight of the ‘First Lady’.

Its closer to a matter that should be taken with  the attitude towards realism.

*Updated 0300hrs